Estimating the Visibility Rate of Alcohol Consumption: A Case Study in Shiraz, Iran

Background: Network Scale Up (NSU) is applied in many settings to estimate the size of hidden populations.The visibility of alcohol consumption - as a hidden behavior - in Iran has not been yet set. Our aim is to estimatethe visibility factor (VF) of alcohol consumption in Iran which is an Islamic country in the Middle East.Methods: Ninety persons who had a history of alcohol consumption were recruited. Relationships in networkwere aligned in three main subgroups: immediate family, extended family, and non-family. According to thegame of contact methodology, participants answered questions about total and aware number of personsthey know in each relationship category. VF was calculated by dividing total number of people aware aboutthe respondent’s alcohol consumption by total number of respondent’s social network. The ۹۵% confidenceintervals (CIs) were computed through bootstrapping.Findings: The mean and standard deviation (SD) of participants’ age was ۳۲.۹ ± ۱۰.۲, the sex ratio was ۳.Overall VF (۹۵% CI) was ۴۰% (۳۳% to ۴۷%). VF was estimated at ۴۴% and ۲۳% among men and women’snetwork, respectively. The immediate family was the highest informed group, followed by non-family andextended family members.Conclusion: The visibility of alcohol consumption in Iran was not high. This is due to religious and legalprohibitions around it

Keywords:

alcohol drinking , Visibility , Size estimation , Iran